Through Darkness Comes the Light
by Rosie Moriarty
Summary: Everyone knows that Eren, Mikasa and Armin joined the Survey Corps. But what about their friend, a blind girl by the name of Eliza who joined at the same time. When Eliza meets Corporal Levi Ackerman, will the secrets that Eliza has fought to hide for years come out of the darkness and into the light? Especially the truth that shaped her future: how she really lost her eyesight.
1. Chapter 1

A knock sounded on Corporal Levi Ackerman's office door.

Levi sighed. "Enter."

The door opened and Commander Erwin walked in. He had a file in his hand and walked over to Levi's desk, dropping the file in front of Levi.

Levi stared at it a moment before picking it up. He opened it and quickly scanned the contents. He looked up at Erwin, who was standing in front of Levi's desk with his hands behind his back. "What is this?"

"You know what it is," Erwin replied.

Levi slammed the file down onto his desk in a rare show of anger. "All I know is that you've assigned a blind scout to my squad," he told Erwin coldly. "What the hell am I supposed to use her for, Titan bait?!"

Erwin smirked at him, crossing his arms in front of him. "I think you'll find a better use for her than that."

Levi rolled his eyes. "I doubt it."

Erwin shrugged at Levi. "Well, you won't know until you meet her. She's down at the training yard."

"So?" Levi asked.

"So you and I are going to go down and greet her," Erwin told him.

"And what interest do you have in her?" Levi asked.

Erwin grinned at Levi. "She's an old friend of mine."

Levi groaned. "Fine. I'll come down."

"You never really had a choice, Levi," Erwin told him.

Levi glared at him. "Trust me, I know."

Levi got up from his chair and followed Erwin out of the office. They walked down to the training yard with Levi grumbling the whole way.

As he and Erwin approached the training yard, Levi noticed a large group of Survey Corps members gathered around. People were offering encouragement and cheering at something. The group parted to allow Erwin and Levi through.

At the center of the yard, a girl with long, wild blonde hair was sparring with Jean Kirstein. The girl blocked an overhand strike from Jean and countered it with a punch to his abdomen. Jean doubled over in pain and the girl twisted to the side of him, hooking her ankle around the back of his and sweeping his legs out from under him. Jean landed on his face in the dirt with a mix of cheers and grumbles from the crowd.

The girl bent down and helped Jean to his feet. Then she stepped away and brushed her hair out of her eyes. Then she turned her head toward Erwin and Levi, fixing her clouded eyes on both of them. She walked over toward Erwin and Levi and stopped about a foot from them.

"It's nice to see you again, Eliza," Erwin greeting.

"I wish I could say the same to you, Erwin," Eliza replied with a grin.

"How did you know we were over here?" Levi asked curiously.

Eliza turned toward him. "Erwin smells like lavender, like always, and you smell like lemons, if you were curious."

"Eliza, this is Corporal Levi Ackerman," Erwin told her. "I've assigned you to his squad."

Eliza held out her hand to Levi. "It's nice to meet you, Corporal."

Levi shook her hand stiffly. "The same to you."

Eliza looked at Levi curiously. "I doubt that. You don't want me here because you don't know what to do with me. You're trying to figure out what having a blind member of your squad could do, how many of your comrade's lives I could endanger." She gave Levi a half-smile. "Don't worry, I don't really want to be here either. Erwin called in a favor I owed him, so here I am."

"Yet still I almost had to drag you here kicking and screaming," Erwin said, amused.

Eliza turned toward him. "Old habits die hard, Erwin. Especially the ones that have been ingrained in you since childhood." Then she walked away from them toward Headquarters.

"Where are you going?" Erwin called after her.

Eliza stopped and turned around to face him. "To my room," she told him, holding up a slip of paper. Eliza grinned at Erwin before turning back around and disappearing into the dispersing crowd.

Levi glanced at Erwin. "She can't read that," he stated.

Erwin sighed. "I know. She just likes to prove her skills to me. Don't worry, she'll ask someone to read it for her."

"And she's going to find her room how?" Levi asked, amused.

Erwin looked at Levi. "One thing you'll learn very quickly about Eliza is to not question her way of doing things. More often than not, things turn out much better if you keep your mouth shut." Then Erwin began walking back up the hill toward Headquarters.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

The next time Eliza encountered Levi, it was in the dining hall at dinner that evening.

Eliza carried a bottle of water and what she was pretty sure was a sandwich or maybe a roll; it was soft and smelled like bread. She threaded her way through the throng of Survey Corps members, trying to find a semi-empty table.

By the patterns of footsteps on the wood floor, Eliza had determined that the tables were arranged in columns and rows with about three and a half feet of space between them. There was a lack of a scraping noise when people got up, so Eliza decided that there must be benches instead of chairs lining the edges of the tables.

"Eliza?" a hesitant voice asked from Eliza's left.

Eliza turned her head toward the voice, wishing once again that she could still see. Then suddenly another body crashed into hers and she felt arms wrapping around her shoulders. Eliza tensed, instinctively expecting an attack, but she relaxed again when she recognized Mikasa's juniper-like smell.

Mikasa let go of Eliza and stepped back. Eliza smiled at her old friend.

"I can't believe you're back," Mikasa told her quietly.

Eliza grinned. "You're not the only one. I never thought I'd step foot back in this place."

"Then why are you here?" Mikasa asked curiously. "It has be dangerous for you to be in the city."

"It is," Eliza agreed. "But Erwin called in a favor."

"Hey, do you want to come sit down?" Mikasa asked. "Eren and Armin would love to see you again."

Eliza hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Wait, what should I say if anyone recognizes me? As far as they're concerned, I dropped out of training."

"I wouldn't worry about it, you were only there for a few weeks. I seriously doubt anyone will remember you," Mikasa told her.

Eliza nodded. "You're probably right. I kicked Jean's ass earlier and he didn't even recognize me."

"To be fair, you have changed a lot in the last four years," Mikasa pointed out. "Come on, the others are waiting." Mikasa grabbed Eliza's wrist and dragged her through the crowd to a table.

Eliza felt Mikasa let go of her wrist, so she assumed they were near a bench or table. Eliza felt around for the exact placement of the bench before she sat down; it wouldn't leave a good impression if she fell on her butt on her first day.

Eliza carefully sat down and set her bottle of water and possible sandwich on the table. She knew Mikasa was on her right and she could tell Eren was across from her; he smelled like freshly cut wood. Eliza could sense Armin by his smell of old books, but she didn't know exactly where he was.

"Look who I found a few minutes ago," Mikasa told Eren and Armin.

"Eliza?!" exclaimed Armin. "What are you doing back here?"

Eliza turned toward Armin's voice; he was apparently sitting to Eren's right. "Erwin called in that favor I owed him."

"What happened to your –" Eren began to ask. Eliza heard a thump of flesh meeting flesh and a small grunt of pain. That meant that Mikasa had probably just kicked Eren to get him to shut up.

Eliza snorted and smiled. She unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite. Fortunately, it was actually a sandwich.

"Wait, the last time I saw you, you could see," Armin said slowly. "What happened?"

There was another smack and a muffled cry of pain came from Armin.

Eliza laid her hand gently on Mikasa's shoulder. "You can stop bodily harming them. I was going to tell you all anyway." Eliza leaned in closer to the middle of the table; you never knew who was listening. "When I went back, this was my punishment for letting, and I quote, the "Titan-murdering scum" fill my head with lies," she told them. It wasn't exactly the whole truth, but it was good enough for now. The whole truth would put them in danger and Eliza wasn't going to have any more of her friends die on her watch.

"Really?" Armin asked, astonished.

Eliza nodded her head. "They're freaks, all of them."

Suddenly, the scent of lemons drifted into Eliza's nose and a hand was set on her shoulder. Eliza turned to Levi. "Corporal."

Levi removed his hand. "I need to talk to you for a moment," he said.

Eliza got up from the table and followed him as the scent of lemons receded. They walked out of the dining hall and into the hallway; there was only one door in and out of the room.

"I'm leaving for a few days," Levi told her. "Squad Leader Hange will be testing your abilities instead of me."

"Why are you telling me this?" Eliza asked. It was rare that anyone ever told her anything, especially if it was important.

Levi sighed. "So you behave yourself," he told her. Then Eliza heard his footsteps receding down the hallway. She couldn't help but wonder exactly how much Erwin had told Levi about her.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later, Levi summoned Eliza to his office early in the morning. He was sitting at his desk, perusing some papers Erwin had sent over, when he heard a light knock on the door.

"Enter," he called. He looked up as his door opened and Eliza walked in. Levi watched as she slowly walked in. She bumped her foot on one of the chairs and Levi watched, interested, as she adjusted herself slightly to avoid hitting the rest of the chair.

"I'm glad to see you're making friends among the squad," Levi remarked.

"And I'm glad to see you're not dead," Eliza told him. "Well, I assume you're not dead since I can't actually see you. Although, if you were dead it would just make this awkward considering we happen to be having a conversation."

"We aren't having a conversation," Levi said. "You're babbling. A conversation requires more than one person talking."

"You just replied to me, so more than one person is talking," Eliza pointed out smugly.

Levi rolled his eyes at her and then sighed when he realized that Eliza couldn't see him roll his eyes at her. Eye-rolling loses its effect when the intended victim happens to be blind.

"You can sit down, you know," Levi told Eliza.

She raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to pull the chair out from under me, now are you?" Eliza felt around behind her for the edge of the chair before she sat down.

"Why the hell would I do that, brat?" Levi asked.

Eliza shrugged. "I don't know, why not play some practical jokes on the blind girl like everyone else?"

"Well you obviously don't think very highly of me," Levi muttered.

"Oh, yes, I forgot. Hange said you don't have a single humorous cell in your body," Eliza told him with a grin.  
Levi sighed and rolled his eyes again, regardless of whether Eliza could see it or not. "Hange's reports say that you've shown some impressive skills. Also, you've intimidated everyone but Mikasa and apparently Eren. Honestly, I don't think he knows when to quit. Hange says that you'd knock him down and he kept coming back for more."

Eliza grinned at this. "He's very determined. He always has been, ever since Wall Maria fell. Eren used to pick fights with all the neighborhood bullies and then Mikasa or I would have to save him." Eliza chuckled. "Nothing can keep Eren down for long, it seems."

Levi looked at Eliza shrewdly. "You knew Eren and Mikasa before the fall of Wall Maria, didn't you?"

"Yeah. I was only there for a few months. I got to know Eren, Mikasa and Armin pretty well, though," Eliza told Levi. She leaned forward. "Now, I seriously doubt you called me in here to talk about my past with my friends. What do you want?"

Levi leaned back in his chair. "Erwin wants me to keep an eye on you, I have no idea why. So, I've decided that you're going to be my assistant until further notice. Also, I've decided that you're not going to get any good out of the training sessions with the other squad members."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Eliza asked curiously, a confused expression on her face.

"You'll be training with me," Levi said.

"Um, okay," Eliza said hesitantly. "Why?"

"Is there a problem with that?" Levi asked.

"No, I just thought that you would have better things to do than to waste your time on training me," Eliza replied.

"I'll be the judge of whether you're wasting my time or not, brat," Levi told her. He motioned toward the door. "You can go do whatever want now, but be here by five o'clock tomorrow morning."

Eliza nodded. She carefully stood up and maneuvered her way to the door and left.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Eliza walked down to the training yard where Mikasa said that she would be sparring with Eren. Sure enough, Eliza heard the scuffling of footsteps and small grunts when she got the yard. Then she heard the thump of a body hitting the hard-packed earth and Eliza knew that Mikasa had bested Eren again.

Eliza walked into the yard, the scent of juniper and cut wood flooding her senses.

"Hey Eliza," Mikasa said, greeting her.

"Hurting Eren again, are we?" Eliza asked with a grin.

"I'll get her next time," Eren said. He was still laying on the ground; his voice came from somewhere near it.

"You say that every time," Mikasa told Eren.

"And one of these days it'll be true," Eren told her confidently.

Eliza laughed. "That day's bound to come soon, Eren. You're doing way better than the last time I saw you fight." She reached down her hand and felt another wrap around it. She pulled and managed to help Eren get back on his feet.

"The last time you saw me fight, I was ten," Eren said indignantly. "And besides, you can't even watch me fight now, so how would you know that I've gotten better."

Eliza heard smack on flesh and Eren muttered a string of curses. She was pretty certain that Mikasa had just smacked Eren upside the head. "When you were ten, all you did was swing wild punches and then get beat up. Now you don't hit the ground for at least ten seconds when you're fighting Mikasa," Eliza said, grinning at Eren.

Eren grumbled at her and Mikasa laughed. "So what did Levi want?" Mikasa asked Eliza.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure. First, we discussed whether or not we were having a conversation, then he asked me how I knew you, Eren and Armin. Then finally, he said that Erwin wanted him to keep an eye on me and that I was supposed to be his assistant now and that he's going to be training me because I apparently intimidate everyone," Eliza told her.

"Why would Erwin want Levi to keep an eye on you?" Eren asked.

"I'm not positive but I think it's because he thinks that the snakes might be inside the walls," Eliza said. "And knowing the snakes, it would be extremely difficult to root all of them out without alerting them that we know about them. And besides, Erwin knows that the last place they'd look for me would be with Levi."

"Well, I guess that makes sense," Eren said. "So what do you think clean freak's going to have you do?"

Eliza shrugged. "I don't know. Levi still has that obsession with cleaning?"

"Yes," Eren and Mikasa answered simultaneously.

Eliza sighed. "Great. This is definitely going to be interesting."


	3. Chapter 3

"Eliza. Eliza, wake up," Mikasa said, shaking Eliza awake. Eliza had forgotten that she asked Mikasa to wake her up and she groaned as she sat up.

"I hate you," she mumbled at Mikasa.

"No you don't," Mikasa retorted. "You hate Levi."

"You're right, I hate Levi," Eliza complained as she got up and got changed. "If it weren't for Levi, I would still be asleep."

"No you wouldn't," Mikasa told her. "I know you, remember? You were awake until about an hour ago and even then you forced yourself go to sleep."

"So? I can still think I'd be asleep, now can't I?" Eliza said, buckling on her harness.

"You missed a strap," Mikasa told her.

"I did? Where?" Eliza asked, feeling all her buckles. She was pretty sure she got all of them.

"Here," Mikasa said and Eliza felt one of the thigh straps cinch up tighter.

"Oh, thanks. I forgot that the Survey Corps requires _all_ the straps buckled," Eliza said. "Hey, what time is it?" she asked.

"You've got about fifteen minutes until five," Mikasa told her. "Why?"

"Oh, Levi stopped me in the hall last night and said he wanted me to bring him breakfast this morning. Well, I'd better go," Eliza said. "See you later."

Eliza made her way carefully down to the kitchens. She trailed her fingertips lightly along the stone wall as she walked; it was easy to lose her sense of direction in a building, especially one this big.

Finally, Eliza walked into the dining hall. She knew the kitchens were somewhere near the back of the room, so Eliza walked in what she hoped was the right direction. She was pretty sure she was heading the right way since she could hear the sound of pots and pans being clanked around.

Eliza felt along the wall until she found an opening. She walked through it and listened. It didn't seem like anyone was in the room with her; Eliza couldn't hear any footsteps or scuffling or any noises at all, really. Even the clanking was gone.

"Hello?" Eliza called out. "Is anyone here?"

She heard rapid footsteps coming from a distance away, like the person was in another room. The footsteps got closer and closer until eventually the person they belonged to walked into the room.

"Hello, dear!" a woman said brightly, a few feet away from Eliza. "You must be Eliza, right?"

"Yes," Eliza answered. She was in slight shock at the woman's bubbly tone. How could anyone be that happy in the morning? "Um, I need-"

"Oh, I know what you need," the woman said, interrupting. "Corporal Levi told us yesterday evening that you'd be coming down this morning."

"Us?" Eliza asked.

"Mhm, me and Dottie," the woman replied. "If you'll wait there, I'll bring the trays out to you, okay?"

Eliza was about to nod, then she realized what the woman had said. "Trays?" she asked.

"Yes. What about them?" the woman asked curiously.

"I, um, only need one," Eliza said.

"What do you mean you only need one?" the woman asked, confused.

"Well, I don't think Levi's going to eat two breakfasts," Eliza pointed out.

"One's for you," the woman told her.

"Oh, well, in that case, I still only need one," Eliza told her.

The woman sighed in frustration.

Just then, another pair of footsteps bustled into the room. Eliza recognized them instantly, even though it had been years since she had heard them.

"It's okay, Melinda, Eliza doesn't eat a lot," Dottie told the other woman.

Melinda huffed indignantly, her bubbliness gone. Then Eliza heard her walk away.

"Thanks, Dottie," Eliza said. It was good to, well, not exactly see her again, but be around her. Dottie had been like a mother to her while she was in the Cadet Corps.

Eliza felt strong, wiry arms wrap around her shoulders. "It's good to see you again, buttercup," Dottie said. "You've grown so much in the last four years." Dottie released Eliza and she felt Dottie swipe her hair away from her eyes. Dottie gasped lightly in shock. "What did they do to you?"

Eliza smiled. "It's okay, Dottie. I'm used to it now."

"That doesn't make what they did to you any more right," Dottie complained.

Eliza sighed. "I know, but what's done is done. No one can go back and change it."

Then Melinda came back with the tray. Eliza held her arms out and Dottie settled it in her hands. "Thanks, Dottie, Melinda. What time is it?"

"Um, about three minutes to five," Melinda answered.

Eliza groaned. There was no way she was going to make it back to Levi's office in three minutes, not even if she could see. She groaned. "Levi's going to kill me. Sorry, Dottie, but I need to go."

"Bye, buttercup. See you tomorrow?" Dottie called out after Eliza.

"Yep! See you then!" Eliza called back over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

Eliza finally made it back to Levi's office. She had no idea what time it was, but she knew she was late. She didn't realize that it would be so difficult to find her way with a tray in her hands. As it was, Eliza had had to balance it on one arm while she felt along the wall to make sure she was going in the right direction.

Eliza opened the door to Levi's office and kicked it shut behind her, balancing the tray in both hands.

"You're late," Levi told her from approximately where his desk was.

Eliza glared at him. "Why don't we blindfold you and send you down to the kitchens to get a tray and see how quickly you can get back here. Ouch!" Eliza exclaimed as she rammed the side of her hip into Levi's desk. She set the tray on the desk, not caring where it was, and rubbed her hip.

"I'm pretty sure I told Melinda and Dottie to make up two trays," Levi remarked.

"You did," Eliza said, still rubbing her hip.

"Well where is the other one?" Levi asked.

"In the kitchens. Do you really need that much food?" Eliza asked.

"It was for you, stupid," Levi told her.

"I'm not hungry," Eliza told him.

Levi sighed. "Fine, whatever." Eliza heard a chair scrape backward. "I have a meeting with Erwin. While I'm gone, I want you clean my office. The cleaning supplies are in the cabinet by the bookcase." With that, Levi walked out of the room.

Eliza rolled her eyes. How the hell was she supposed to know where the bookcase was? "It's not like I'm blind or anything," Eliza muttered to herself. With a sigh, she began to feel around for the elusive cleaning cabinet.


	4. Chapter 4

Almost everything in Levi's office was spotless. Well, everything but the bookcase. Eliza stood on the step stool, but she wasn't quite tall enough to reach the upper shelf or the top of the bookcase and knowing Levi, he would have to have them both ridiculously clean to meet his standards.

"Clean freak," Eliza mumbled under her breath. She was sure he was seeing if she would fail miserably so he would have an excuse not to have her in his squad. Asshole.

Eliza grabbed the sides of the bookcase and put her foot on one of the lower shelves to give her a boost and it was just the right amount of height to be ale to feel the top of the bookcase. Now, if only she could hold this position while she cleaned the last shelf and the top.

The door behind her opened with a creak; it sounded like Levi had returned. Eliza reflexively turned her head toward the door even though she couldn't see who was there. As she turned her head, it shifted her weight just enough that her foot slipped off the edge of the bookcase. The dust rag in her hand went flying as Eliza braced for impact. She was pretty sure she was going to smack her head against Levi's desk. It was going to hurt.

The impact never came. Instead, Eliza found herself caught in warm arms and surrounded by lemons. Eliza's momentum sent Levi back against his desk, but it hurt a lot less than if Eliza had smacked her head against it.

"When I told you to clean my office, brat, I didn't expect you to clean the tall things," Levi sighed.

Eliza looked up in disbelief, mouth slightly open. "You didn't say anything so how was I supposed to know?"

Eliza felt him tap her on the head with a finger. "Tch. It's called using the big pile of flesh between your ears," Levi retorted.

Eliza rolled her eyes. What an ass.

Levi gently set Eliza on the floor. "Don't roll your eyes at me, cadet, or you'll be running laps."

"At least if I was running laps, I wouldn't be dealing with your shitty attitude," Eliza mumbled under her breath.

"What was that, cadet?" Eliza could hear the eyebrow raise that accompanied that tone of voice.

"Nothing, sir," Eliza said, saluting. She hope it came off sarcastically.

"That's what I thought," Levi said. "Lucky for you, you're cleaning abilities meet my standards. Well done. You're dismissed."

"Yes, sir," Eliza replied and walked toward the door, which was luckily open. Hmm, that means Levi had to be pretty quick to save her. Eliza grinned a bit. She made sure the grin was gone as she turned and gently closed the door behind her. Before it fully closed, she said, "Thank you, Levi."

Since being Levi's assistant was supposed to take up more time than it did today, Eliza found herself without any more chores to do and at least a few hours of daylight left. Perfect, she had time to train. Eliza went to her and Mikasa's room and retrieved her gear. She slung it over her shoulder and headed back downstairs and into the fading sunshine.

The rest of the cadets were in one of the various classrooms going over the strategy for the expedition next week, so the training fields were quiet as Eliza walked through them on her way to the forest. Eliza didn't need to attend the briefing; both Levi and Mikasa were going to explain it to her verbally since it would do her no good to look at a schematic for obvious reasons.

Eliza walked into the forest, the cool shadows the large trees cast over the entrance were soothing. She buckled up her 3DMG and took a deep breath. She heard the birds calling to each other, the wind rustling in the trees and she was content. It was quiet and peaceful and she felt like she could do anything.

A grin played across her lips. She rappelled into a tree, timing the sound of the gears with the looming presence of the tree. Her boots touched lightly on the bark of a branch before she had shot her anchors into another tree and was once again flying through the air. She pulled out her blades and sliced the nape of the Scouts' Titan dummies before landing lightly on her feet on a branch in another tree. She heard the chunk of dummy hit the forest floor and she smiled. She still had it.

Eliza continued to fly through the forest, slicing the nape of every Titan dummy she came across. She knew the placement of every dummy, every tree and every branch. She knew this route through the forest so well, she didn't need her eyes. She could see everything in her mind's eye and this was one of the things that seemed like it hadn't changed with the loss of her sight. Yes, it was four years ago and yes, she adapted quite well, but life was still difficult and she could sense people acting differently around her now, like she could break. It was infuriating. She was just as capable as any of the others, maybe even more so as she had to be more in tune with her body and surroundings than the others that relied on their sight to glean information about the environment around them.

Working herself into a fit of anger, Eliza ran the course into the forest front and back for what seemed like hours. Over and over again until she could no longer feel the pent up aggression course through her veins. She felt anger at the others, at Erwin for making her be here, at Levi for thinking she's a liability, at her friends for stepping delicately around her disability, at the people who did this to her, but must importantly, anger at herself for letting this happen.

Finally Eliza stopped, standing on a branch, breathing heavily, blades at the ready. As the blood rushing in her ears subsided, the sounds of the forest filtered back into her ears. She hadn't been able to hear anything over the pounding of her heart. The forest was quiet other than the chirping of the crickets.

Wait, the crickets were out. That must mean it's dark. Eliza groaned and rubbed a hand over her face. She had to get back to the castle, Levi was probably looking for her to do some more cleaning or something.

She was pretty deep in the forest, it would take at least half an hour to the reach the beginning of the course again. Fantastic. She was going to be in so much trouble when she got back.

Shaking her head, Eliza shot her anchors out and heard them catch in a tree. She tugged a bit, seeing if they'd hold her weight and went ahead and let them pull her to the other tree. In a heartbeat she heard the whir of the gears in her 3DMG, her feet left the bark of the tree and she was airborne, her hair blowing in the wind.

Then she heard a whir that was different from the 3DMG. A whir that sounded like something had been thrown through the air. Then Eliza heard the sound of metal on metal and the force that was pulling her through the air was gone. She heard the cords of the 3DMG whip through the air; they must have been cut by something.

Eliza covered her face as she heard the sharp metallic ka-twang of cords as they arced through the air toward her and the cut end of one of the cords bit into her neck. She felt skin split open and warm, sticky blood come out. She fell through the air, hitting branches on the way down. She hit her ribs hard on one and her right shoulder on another. Her leg caught a third branch and her body rotated through the air. She fell hard on the ground on her back and she thought she felt something give. Eliza's head bounced off the ground and the wind was knocked out of her; it felt like her spine met her stomach and she felt the vibrations of the impact in her chest and throat. She lay on the wet earth, gasping for air. Stars flitted through the darkness of her existence.

Eliza heard footsteps approaching her, slightly muffled by the wet earth. The footsteps got closer and closer until they stopped, then she felt fingers wrap around her throat and lift her off the ground. Her back hit a tree, the rough bark tugging at her uniform. Her feet left the ground and she blindly clawed at the hand grabbing her throat.

The hand squeezed and Eliza found that she couldn't breathe even if she had wanted to. Her already oxygen deficient body was screaming for air she couldn't give it. Her assailant's thumb pressed into her jugular and she felt the heat as they pressed their body close to hers

"You disgusting Titan-killing filth." The voice whispered in her ear, their sweet breath tickling her ear and moving the tendrils of her hair that had escaped her pony tail. Eliza couldn't tell if the voice was male or female; it was low, but not particularly masculine or feminine.

Eliza heard the sound of steel being withdrawn from a 3DMG sheath, but she didn't feel any movement near her gear. Then a red hot, piercing pain filled Eliza's senses. It felt like whoever was accosting her had stabbed her in the left shoulder, effectively pinning her to the tree. From the sound of the weapon being pulled out of its casing, it was with a 3DMG blade. Eliza didn't have time to ponder the implications of that as her world of darkness started greying out around the edges.

"Eliza!" She heard a faint voice shout through the now-silent forest. The lack of oxygen was making her brain fuzzy but she thought it sounded like Levi.

Another shout, closer this time, followed the first. It was definitely Levi. Either that or someone who sounded eerily similar to Levi.

The person holding her captive tensed; Eliza could feel the tension in her assailant's fingers against her throat.

Eliza thought she could vaguely hear the whir of a 3DMG coming their way.

"Scum," the person holding her captive whispered in her ear with disgust. Then the pressure on her throat was gone and she could hear the whir of 3DMG moving away from her. At the same time, she could hear Levi getting closer to her. Which was good, since she was hanging from a tree by her shoulder, her weight causing more damage to the already bruised and injured area.

The whir of 3DMG got closer and stopped with a thud as Levi landed on the ground. "Eliza!" Eliza heard fast footsteps and then fingers at her throat, checking her pulse. She wasn't surprised, with the way her head slumped forward on her chest, she probably looked dead.

"Levi?" She heard herself weakly rasp out. The stranger that had choked her had probably bruised her vocal chords pretty good judging by the pain.

Eliza thought she heard him breath out, "Thank god," so quiet she almost didn't hear it. She lifted her head and opened her eyes, hoping she was looking at him.

Levi draped Eliza's right arm, the one not pinned to the tree, across his left shoulder and grasped the blade stuck in her left; she felt it move slightly.

"This is going to hurt," Levi warned.

Eliza nodded weakly.

Levi swiftly pulled the blade out of the tree and back through her shoulder and Eliza gritted her teeth, grunting in pain. She felt the blood drain from her face as a new wave of pain washed over her as she slumped against Levi, who caught her and pressed something against her shoulder to stem the flow of blood.

Levi lowered Eliza to the ground; he was on his knees while she was slumped against him, barely conscious. He adjusted her slightly so he could tie his cape around her shoulder, tying it as tightly as he dared. Levi knew it caused Eliza more pain, but they were probably an hour from the garrison on foot and he didn't want her to bleed out on the way back.

Levi quickly examined Eliza for more visible injuries, noting the one on her neck. It was bleeding sluggishly, which was good. That meant it wasn't deep. She had some dark bruising around her throat and he didn't fail to notice the gear around her hips that was smashed or the anchoring cables that were obviously cut. Levi felt anger rise up in him, but he stamped it down. The semi-conscious woman in his arms was the priority at the moment. He could go after whoever did this once he got Eliza back to the castle.

Eliza lifted her head off Levi and blinked up at him. "Thank…you…Levi," she rasped out. The smell of lemons vaguely permeated the pain-filled fog of her mind. Her head felt so extremely _heavy_, so she let it fall against him again.

"Don't speak, brat. You'll make the damage to your vocal cords worse." Eliza could feel the vibration of his chest as he spoke and it was comforting. She made a slight noise of affirmation.

Levi slowly stood, supporting Eliza into a standing position. She swayed on her feet. It felt like the world was spinning and moving around her and the grey fog pressed in closer. Then she was in Levi's arms, her head resting against his chest and her injured arm hanging limply at her side.

The comforting smell of lemons invaded her senses and she found she couldn't fight the pain and blood loss any longer and the grey fog took over her mind as she fell unconscious.

Levi looked down at the unconscious cadet in his arms and was strongly reminded of a little girl with long blonde hair he had cradled in his arms like this. He had rescued her from some thugs when he was kid in the Underground and she had been beaten black and blue. Levi shook his head; remembering the past wouldn't do anyone any good. Certainly not the blind woman in his arms that reminded him of her with everything she did, even what he had lost.

With a sigh, Levi started the long walk back to the castle.


	5. Chapter 5

Eliza regained consciousness to the sound of silence and the smell of lemons. Her body felt weak and heavy. She felt something around her neck and raised her arm to feel what it was, but it caused an immense pain to radiate from her shoulder and down her arm.

"I wouldn't do that, dear," a woman said from Eliza's right. "I don't want you to open up that wound. I'm going to put it in a sling once you start feeling a bit better. Jostling that arm could permanently damage the tendons."

"Who are you? Where am I?" Eliza rasped out.

"I'm Doctor Hanada," she said. "You're in the infirmary. I don't want you to speak for at least five more days. The damage to your vocal cords is extensive and the only way they'll heal is if you rest them and don't talk. I've also bandaged the cut in your throat and your broken ribs. Other than that, you just have a few bumps and bruises. You were pretty lucky from what the Corporal told me." Eliza heard the doctor's footsteps retreat and a door close. She must have left.

As Eliza's awareness started coming back to her, she could feel the slight pain of the cut in her neck, the pain in her ribs when she breathed and at least a big bruise on the leg that hit the tree branch in her fall. She felt something warm resting in her right hand. She twitched her fingers and felt someone else's fingers tighten around her own. Eliza furrowed her brow in confusion. Why was Levi here?

The door to the infirmary opened and closed again. Sharp footsteps approached Eliza's bed and walked passed the foot of it. She heard the creak as someone's weight was set onto a chair and lavender wafted over to her.

"It's good to see you awake, Eliza," Erwin said. "You gave us a bit of a scare."

Eliza opened her mouth to respond, but he stopped her. "Don't even think about it. I know the doctor already told you not to speak."

Eliza closed her mouth; she felt a faint blush spread across her cheeks. "Sorry," she mouthed.

"You're pushing it, kid," Erwin said, his displeasure evident in his voice. Eliza could practically picture his facial expression and she grinned. She tilted her head toward Levi and furrowed her brow in confusion, hoping Erwin understood what she was asking.

Erwin chuckled lightly. "Levi has been sitting here for the last day and a half, holding your hand the whole time. The only time Hanada could get him to leave was when she changed you out of your uniform and when she rebandages your ribs. It's cute, really. Your wounded shoulder bled through his cloak and onto his uniform and the clean freak didn't even go change until he determined you weren't going to die in the ten minutes it would take him to go take care of it."

Eliza heard the chair creak as Erwin shifted. "Anyway," he continued, "We haven't found any evidence of who attacked you, but your anchoring cables were definitely cut, so it's leading to some inquiries at Headquarters."

Eliza turned her attention to Levi, gently pulled her right hand out from under Levi's; not without some struggle, his fingers kept tightening around hers every time she moved it. Finally, Eliza turned toward Erwin and mimed writing.

"Ah," he said, getting up and walking somewhere in front of her. He walked back over to her bedside and set a pad and a pen on her lap, making sure he set them next to each other so she could feel both of them.

Eliza grabbed the pen and wrote, most likely sloppily since she couldn't see, _3DMG_ and _Wall-worshippers._ She set the pen down and she felt Erwin grab the pad off her lap.

"Hmm," he said. "It's just as we thought." He was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, Eliza."

Eliza gestured for the pad back. Erwin set it on her lap and she scribbled, "_Don't even. I volunteered for this."_ She shoved it in Erwin's direction.

He picked it up and sighed. "I know, but you wouldn't be here if I hadn't asked."

Eliza rolled her eyes and looked in his direction. Her expression conveyed the feeling "seriously?" She knew that Erwin knew that if she hadn't wanted to do it, knowing exactly what could happen, there's no way he could have gotten her here.

Erwin chuckled. "I know what you're thinking and I suppose you're right. Thank you, Eliza." He put the pad back on her lap.

Levi started to stir; Eliza could hear the rustle of his clothing and his breathing started getting shallower.

"And that is my cue to go get some paperwork done," Erwin announced. His footsteps neared the door and he opened it. "If you need anything, you know where I am," he said and the door closed with a soft click.

Levi felt consciousness start rearing its ugly head as he began to wake up. He groaned as he woke up enough to feel the pain in his muscles from falling asleep sitting in the chair he'd been occupying for a day and a half, catching an hour or two of sleep leaning over on the infirmary bed.

He rubbed one hand over his face, still not opening his eyes. He curled his fingers around Eliza's hand to reassure himself that she was still alive. To reassure himself that he hadn't failed like he'd failed so many years ago, but all his fingers met with was air.

Immediately wide awake, heart pounding in his chest, he bolted upright in a panic. His eyes immediately went looking for the person that had occupied this bed for the last few long, grueling hours, fearing the worst.

His steely grey eyes met Eliza's clouded blue ones. He scanned her for injuries and breathed a sigh of relief. She was okay. Relatively speaking anyway.

"Are you alright, Levi?" Eliza's raspy voice sounded concerned.

Levi cleared his throat and nodded. Then realized his mistake and said, "I'm fine, brat. You're the one that ding-dong-ditched Death. And you're not supposed to be talking, now are you?"

Eliza rolled her eyes but didn't say any smart-ass comments back.

"Now we get to find the bastard that did this to you," Levi said. "I found you too late. Do you remember anything that might be useful?"

Eliza nodded and circled the _3DMG_ and scratched out the _Wall-worshippers _she had written down for Erwin. Levi didn't need to be knowing about that yet. She also scribbled, _Already talked to Erwin._ Then she passed the note pad over to Levi, tapping the words she had circled.

Levi picked up the pad and read it. He set it back down. "At least we have something to go on." He stood up, the chair scraping against the wood floor. "I'm going to track down Erwin and see what the next move is so we can find out who did this to you."

Eliza scribbled on her note pad and tugged on Levi's sleeve. He picked up the pad and read it. _Sleep first._ Levi rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, brat."

Eliza fixed him with a stern stare. It looked like she knew him well enough to know that he had only slept because his body forced him to.

Levi sighed. "Fine. After I talk with Erwin."

Just then Hanad opened the door and strolled in, carrying a syringe. "It's time to give you some pain meds, hun," she said, walking over to Eliza's bedside. "It'll make you sleepy, so don't fight it." She disinfected Eliza's shoulder as Levi moved to the foot of the bed so he didn't impede the doctor. Dr. Hanad injected the syringe into Eliza and bustled right out again.

Levi stayed for a couple more minutes until the meds kicked in and Eliza's eyes started to close. Then he grabbed his uniform jacket off the back of the chair and walked out of the infirmary, closing the door softly behind him. He had a bone to pick with Erwin.


End file.
